Truth... (What Will You Stand For?)

I have recently had a reawakening of some passionate feelings against some things that too many people have embraced.  There are certain things that a handful of people against God have bullied everyone else into accepting.  What I don't understand is why people that love God have let it happen!  Ok, so I do know why.  All too many of us don't take the time to really, really know God.  I would probably be correct in assuming that the majority of people that call themselves Christians do so only because they believe in Jesus.  Not that that is a small thing! Don't get me wrong, but there is SO much more to know! Like what did Jesus teach? What did He die to give us?  And so many more things to be learned from studying God's word and having a relationship with Him.  If Christians knew as convincingly as this handful of God-haters what they believed, then our country wouldn't be where it is right now.  Our children wouldn't be learning lies, they would be learning truth and it would be setting people free, just like Jesus said!
  My passion was awakened recently by a program where two scientists were discussing evolution.  You can ask my husband, I get VERY riled up when this topic comes up. Poor guy! I can't help it, when this topic comes up I get this overwhelming anger and I can't help but speak.  Thankfully, this blog gives me an outlet to vent.
  The host of the program (a Christian program, obviously, or the two scientists would never have been allowed on television!) interviewed these two men separately over the course of a few weeks.  Both of these men used to be evolutionists!  Their education background was in evolution and they believed in it totally, until scientific evidence proved to them that all they had learned was wrong.  Both men, separately interviewed, said that there is NO scientific evidence of evolution. NONE!  All theories of  evolution can be scientifically disproved!  The reason for this is that evolution is just a theory.  Someone hundreds of years ago that didn't want to believe that God created everything, came up with a theory and that theory has since changed many times to suit their agendas.  It turns out, there are as many evolutionary theories as their are evolutionary scientists!  How are all of these scientific men believing in something that the very nature of their titles can disprove?  They don't want to believe in God! They don't want to be held responsible for their actions. And therefore, they're blinded by the devil. "In whom the god of this world (satan) hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." 2 Corinthians 4:4  Otherwise how could men who claim to be scientists, completely ignore such glaring evidence!
  We've been taught that the earth took millions of years to form and that the different layers of earth can prove that. Wrong!  The evidence shows that the way the layers are laid down could only have happened in a worldwide flood and in a matter of months. Hello! The Bible tells us that!  And the evolutionists tell us that we all came from one-celled organisms.  Then why does everything in nature go from order to disorder?  Not the other way around.  Why can these men, in all of their so-called wisdom, not be able to make a single living thing on their own? If men can't do it then how in the world did it happen by accident?  Because it couldn't!  It took a heavenly Creator to develop all of the intricate workings of just one cell, much less a whole animal or person!
  As angry as I get at these people spreading their lies and trying to force their un-scientific views down our throats, they need our prayers. For their eyes to be opened to the truth.  It happened to the two scientists I mentioned earlier.
  My real issue is why are these people allowed to rule what the majority doesn't believe?!  Why are the Christians just sitting there allowing these things to be taught to their children?  Do the god-haters have more passion for what they believe than we do?  How sad!!!  For people that have the power of God living inside them, if they're born again believers in Christ, we sure don't look like it!  (I'm speaking of myself here too).  Why is this?  Why are we, the majority, allowing this handful of people to dictate what gets taught, what gets put on every television show, what our children are learning as truth?  It makes me want to cry!  Where is the passion of our country?!  This country was founded by people that believed in God and wanted to be able to have a country based on that faith!  And we've let this handful of people, who are led in their hearts by our very enemy!, to rule what is to be accepted and what isn't!
  Did you know that the reason evolution is even taught in our schools?  One school teacher didn't want to teach it and an evolutionist prosecuted him.  His evidence of why this should be taught as truth and not creation, one little tooth!  A tooth that a scientist found that had markings like an ape and markings like a man.  This tooth, that wasn't even allowed to be examined by anyone in the courtroom and therefore couldn't be refuted by this teacher, is what started the whole thing!  And this tooth, a week or so later, was found to be from a pig!  The scientist who dug up the tooth took what little data he could gather from it and made all sorts of assumptions before he dug up the rest of the animal!  Sounds like the old story of the blind men touching an elephant trying to figure out what it was. They came  up with everything but an elephant!
  I don't know where or how to start to remedy this.  But I do know that if Christians would get serious about knowing their Savior then we could turn this around!  We are the majority!!  We are the ones with power!  All that the devil has is lies and empty threats!!!  He goes about "as a roaring lion seeking whom he may destroy".  As a lion, because Jesus already ripped out all of his teeth and claws and he has no power, nothing but empty threats to sling at us!  Why are we giving in to those threats?
  I am blessed, in that I get to teach my children myself, but for those of you who can't, do you know what your children are being taught?  Are you, at least, teaching them that those things aren't true?  Thankfully the teacher I had for science growing up was a Christian and she would only talk about evolution as a theory and not fact.  She was forced by law to introduce it to us but she never led us to think it was correct.  (Thank you, Mrs. Mitchell, for that!)  Not every school is blessed with a teacher like that.  As parents the responsibility, according to God, falls to us as to what our little blessings are taught.
  I want God to so rule in my life that His power and passion are seen in me!  Then and only then will things start to change...
      Amanda

For the Children...

  My sisters and I have been doing the Bible study that I mentioned before and the first lesson was on self-centeredness.  Naturally, I know we all deal with this issue but it definitely seems that since studying that lesson, I have been all too aware of my self.  Of how I get offended and hurt and when I don't get my way.  This hasn't really helped me to be very productive so far.  But it does point out how much I need Jesus!  How often did He have opportunity to be offended? And He went through more pain than (praise God!) I'll ever know and yet He did it willingly!  For us!  So what I have gotten out of all of this, is that I really need to look to Him and lay aside my self-centeredness! I have a wonderful little girl and hope to have at least one more and they need me to teach them the right way to be.  Jesus is to be our model and if I want my children to ever come to know Him I have to show Him to them in how I am.  I want my children to see how wonderful God is.  I don't want them to have to learn the "hard way" how loving and full of grace and mercy He is.  For it is the "goodness of God that leads to repentance". (Rom. 2:4)
  If I can lay aside my selfishness and walk out the power of the Christian life for my children, what an awesome privilege!  This desire is easier said than done, of course, but I am making it my ultimate goal.  My dream since I was a little girl was to be the best wife and mommy possible.  I am blessed in that I am home to get that opportunity! Now I need to do my part and do it.
  I am striving always to meet my goal.  I read the Bible to find what I need to do to be a good wife and mother and want SO badly to put them into action.  And then life happens and self rears its ugly head and I fail.  But in the words of Andrew Wommack "I may not have arrived but at least I left".  I may not be exactly where I need to be but praise God, I am not who I used to be!  When I got baptized in the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues, I left that old me behind.  I know I can't explain it but it's exactly how the Bible says. "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" 2 Corinthians 5:17.
  It breaks my heart when I don't tap into the patience that's in my spirit and let my "self" have its way. Especially if it effects my husband or little girl.  I want to be cheerfully going about doing the things that I have to do.  I want to lovingly correct my daughter.  I want to do things that please my husband.  I have the best intentions but not always the discipline to accomplish them!  Praise God that with Him I can have more victories than failures!  If I will only remember to take my eyes and thoughts off of myself and onto Him, I can do all things!  That, I find, is the hard part to remember. Something so simple and yet I forget it so often!!  I do believe that doing the Bible study with my sisters (and anyone else that wants to join us!) and the time I'm spending in God's Word is helping me to remember more often.  That is how we succeed in running our race!  Keeping our eyes on the prize!  For me, having a happy, satisfied husband and happy, godly children are the prize.
  So my prayer is for God to keep reminding me to look to Him and not at myself! To show me when I miss it and how to keep from doing that again.  And I am definitely going to be speaking out the patience that is in me to come out when I get stressed!  It's a fruit of the Holy Spirit so I have it!
  Now to go practice what I've just preached.....  :)
     Amanda

Remember, if you want to join in on the Bible study my sisters and I (and one of the brother-in-laws!!) are doing, just email me at electric-llama@att.net  and I'll send you the next lesson!  :)

Growing Stronger

Ok, I have a confession to make.  Last night we watched the new movie Dark Shadows. Ugh! I usually really like movies with Johnny Depp in them and all of the previews made it look like a light-hearted comedy. Just a spoof of the old tv show.  That's not exactly what it was.  There were funny parts and those parts were ok but it's the rest of the movie that I felt bad about watching.  Thankfully, I know that I'm forgiven and don't have to beat myself up about it but I did feel the need to tell God I'm sorry I watched that!
  To most people that wouldn't be a big deal but I'm seeking the Lord with all my heart and there just isn't room in my life (or shouldn't be) for pointless, evil things.  I now see why Mom always holds to the verse Psalm 97:10!  "Ye that love the LORD, hate evil"!  Hate it! Don't watch it...
  I am pressing in with my relationship to God and I want so badly for others to also!  If everyone could just see how sneaky evil is!  If they could just see that it isn't just harmless entertainment to watch or listen to whatever is thrown out there!  Don't get me wrong, there are things that are ok out there to watch, but that's not the majority.  The majority of the media is under the control of those that are against God. This is SO evident in just the little subtle things that are said or shown.  But if we don't know God, we miss those things.  The majority of the world is just hearing and swallowing what is fed to them!  And it's all lies!  It breaks my heart when I see or hear people just mindlessly believing things because someone on tv or the radio says them.  Just because they have a platform to say what they want, doesn't make what they say the truth!  Just the opposite usually,  if they've been allowed a platform by the mainstream media then they must conform to the ungodly views that they hold.  Even the so-called family channels now, have things that are so destructive to families on them!    Lies are being fed as truths and destructive relationships are shown to be the norm.  How thankful I am that I know the truth!!!  But how saddened by the fact that I know SO many who don't.  And until they, themselves, decide to seek to know the truth, there's nothing I can say or do to make them listen.  It breaks my heart! 

Ok, now I can get on to what God has been showing me this week.  My sisters and I are doing a Bible study and the first lesson was on self-centeredness.  Not an easy lesson to start out on!  I read the lesson on Thursday and on Saturday I got a good hard look at how self-centered I can be!  In my defense, hormones were playing a huge part of what I had to fight in the flesh, but I need to get to a place where the hormones might surge but don't control me.  My Mommy helped me on Sunday.  (Thank you, Mommy!!!)
  She pointed out how thankful I need to be.  Not very many years ago, I was dreaming and praying for my life to be what it is now! I'm actually living out what I spent over a decade praying for!  And although I am SOOO thankful for it, I sometimes forget that I'm living my dream.
  I am married to a good man and have a wonderful daughter! And I get to stay home and take care of her and "keep" (or take care of) our home!  How wonderful is that?!  It's what I always dreamed of doing!  It isn't an easy or glamorous path but it's the one that God placed a desire for in my heart.  And I DO love it!
  I am not where I need to be yet in how I go about this, but thankfully, I am always seeking how to do it better.  Raising a child isn't easy but how awful I would feel if someone else was doing my job!  If someone else got all of the hugs throughout the day and was teaching my little girl things.  That is my job!  The hugs and smiles are my paycheck. :)  And I cherish every one of them.
  I have read somewhere that women need to see their work at home as a ministry.  We literally minister to our husbands and children when we cook, clean and do the laundry!  I need a daily reminder of that! How much more cheerfully would I dust my house or make dinner if I remembered that I was ministering to my family?  So much more!!  I actually did this yesterday and it helped so much!!  I do have to watch the self-centeredness still, though, because when what I do goes unnoticed or unappreciated, it stings.  I have to get past that.  And I know I will, praise God!
  Again, if anyone wants to join my sisters and I in the Bible study, please email me at electric-llama@att.net
        Amanda

The Importance of Seeking

I have to admit that I was a bit distracted during the sermon at church yesterday.  Trinity may not be disruptive to the people that sit in front of her (very often anyway), but in order to keep her that way, I can generally only give a percentage of my attention and focus to the sermon.  A fact that I don’t like but for now it’s the way things are.

  Anyway, my point is that the importance of Mommy’s (my mother is our preacher) words didn’t hit me with the force they should have until today!  As I was preparing to make the newsletter I read the Proverbs chapter for today and got inspiration.  It went along perfectly with what I’ve been feeling lately and with what Mom and I have been talking about!  Seeking!!!

  Provers 1:20-33 is all about Wisdom crying out for people to listen. To come and seek her out and listen!  And then what happens to those that refuse.  Read it, it isn’t pretty.  But the promise for those that do is beautiful! “But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.”  Wow!  

 After I read that and titled what I was going to write about I remembered Mommy’s poem from church yesterday!  And all of that ties in to what has been going on in my heart lately.  Here we are, knowing what we know and trying so hard to get people to listen and understand and yet they refuse!  It’s heart breaking!  I reached out to two family members to try to get them to come and study with us and learn how to quit being robbed but they haven’t ever answered me.  That makes me so sad.  I can’t make them desire this but I can definitely desire it for myself!  So my focus is back on my relationship with God and doing what I can to make sure my little family will “dwell safely and be quiet from fear of evil”!

  My motivation and determination just seems to get stronger every day! Every day I see some awful evil or perverted thing thrust in my face on tv or pretty much anywhere I go.  This world just doesn’t get it.  They are so far off!  I’ve already greatly narrowed down my daily influences to make sure that God has the absolute majority of my focus.  

  I want my children to grow up not knowing any other way but to walk in victory!  I want them to so strongly know who they are in Christ and the power that they have because of that, that the seduction of this world looks like the garbage it really is to them.  But in order for that to happen, I have to step up and seek.  I have to walk in a relationship with God that makes me victorious! That shows forth a life they want to live.  That shows the Christian life isn’t a life of denial, but of joy, health, prosperity, victory and power!!! Who wouldn’t want a life like that?  

  So my point is, we NEED to seek!   How can we know what God has for us and not seek it out?  I have been far too lazy and content up until now! No more!  I’m not waiting for something awful to happen before I get off my butt and seek God.  I’m seeking Him now, with my whole heart, so that I will be strong in this world!  I’ve done it before, I can do it again. :)  But this time, without ceasing!

     Amanda

          The poem (Seek)  I referred to can be found at the link below
lezzakuzzinpoetry.blogspot.com

A Call to Arms!

Lately I have felt moved to get a word out from God. It seems that all around me the enemy is stealing from those I know and love. This HAS to stop!!

I can't just sit idly by and watch those I love being robbed anymore. It hurts too much!  Especially since I  know that it doesn't have to be this way. God gave us authority over the devil, sickness, poverty and all that falls under the curse! Jesus suffered and died for us to have that authority back and yet so many of us don't even know we have it!

We have got to stop letting the enemy take from us what is ours by divine right!  How much longer are we going to be stolen from because, either out of ignorance or laziness, we refuse to learn how to fight against him? 

If I sound harsh, I don't mean to be. This is to rally myself as much as anyone else. I've been guilty of worse than most since I know this truth and yet was too lazy to grow deeper in it. But no longer!!

It is time for us to stand together, to learn what we have in Christ and grow in our relationship with Him! And we need to do it together. "Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven." Matthew 18:19

If you would like to begin learning how to have the victory that Jesus, through His suffering, death and conquering resurrection, has given us please join me! I will be hosting a Bible study called Discipleship Evangelism by Andrew Wommack Ministries. It covers from the most basic areas, all the way through to walking in the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Please e-mail me for more information:

electric-llama@att.net

Standing With You in Love,

Amanda